Trees

Plants may not protect us against climate change – Tim Wogan

Plants are one of the last bulwarks against climate change. They feed on carbon dioxide, growing faster and absorbing more of the greenhouse gas as humans produce it. But a new study finds that limited nutrients may keep plants from growing as fast as scientists thought, leading to more global warming than some climate models had predicted by 2100. Plants …

missiles in libya

The US Hand in Libya’s Tragedy – Robert Parry

The mainstream U.S. news media is lambasting the Europeans for failing to stop the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Mediterranean Sea as desperate Libyans flee their war-torn country in overloaded boats that are sinking as hundreds drown. But the MSM forgets how this Libyan crisis began, including its own key role along with that of “liberal interventionists” such as Hillary …

Fukushima

Dana Durnford’s Post-Fukushima Odyssey: Documenting Ecocide on Canada’s West Coast – Robert Snefjella

Homer’s Odyssey is a fable 3000 years old, first recited when civilization was of middling age, that is, well – or not so well – underway, neither young nor terminal. As Homer put it, via W.H. D. Rouse’s translation, “This is the story of a man, one who was never at a loss.” And “he endured many troubles and hardships …

TPP2

The TPP: Toward Absolutist Capitalism – Lambert Strether

There are many excellent arguments against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), two of which — local zoning over-rides, and loss of national sovereignty — I’ll briefly review as stepping stones to the main topic of the post: Absolutist Capitalism, for which I make two claims: 1) The TPP implies a form of absolute rule, a tyranny as James Madison would have …

vaccines

Government Vaccine Committee Considers How to Build Vaccine Confidence

…but verifying or improving the safety of vaccines is not on the list. Action Alert! [1] You may remember our article [2] on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee’s (NVAC) plan to increase adult immunizations, which could eventually lead to adult mandates. Now, NVAC’s Vaccine Confidence Working Group has released a draft report [3] that considers “how confidence in vaccines impacts the optimal use of recommended childhood vaccines in …

truth

Truth Is Washington’s Enemy – Paul Craig Roberts

US Representative Ed Royce (R, CA) is busy at work destroying the possibility of truth being spoken in the US. On April 15 at a hearing before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs of which Royce is chairman, Royce made use of two minor presstitutes to help him redefine all who take exception to Washington’s lies as “threats” who belong …

Ethics Professor Says It’s “Quite Reasonable” to Kill Disabled Babies via Obamacare – Daisy Luther

Has anyone else noticed that most professors of ethics aren’t exactly…ummm…ethical? At least the ones who get quoted, anyway. A professor at the highly esteemed Princeton University doesn’t want his Obamacare premiums to increase because of caring for severely disabled babies. Dr. Pete Singer, who teaches ethics (but perhaps needs a little refresher on what the word “ethics” means) argued during …

Shale

Oil Market Uncertain As US Shale Boom “Goes Bust”

Oil market is uncertain as the US shale oil output is expected to fall for the first time in four years, and the coming months are likely to see a continuing price war between OPEC producers. Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and HIS are now projecting that US oil production growth will now end. The global oil price rose slightly in …

honeybee article

Inside the Wonderful World of Bee Cognition – Where We’re at Now – Felicity Muth

As I wrote about in my last post, bees are capable of learning which flowers offer good nectar rewards based on floral features such as colour, smell, shape, texture, pattern, temperature and electric charge. They do this through associative learning: learning that a ‘conditioned stimulus’ (for example, the colour yellow) is associated with an ‘unconditioned stimulus’ (nectar). Learning simple associations like …

RAF chinook helicopters on operations.

Sex, Drugs, and Dead Soldiers : What U.S. Africa Command Doesn’t Want You to Know – Nick Turse

Six people lay lifeless in the filthy brown water. It was 5:09 a.m. when their Toyota Land Cruiser plunged off a bridge in the West African country of Mali.  For about two seconds, the SUV sailed through the air, pirouetting 180 degrees as it plunged 70 feet, crashing into the Niger River. Three of the dead were American commandos.  The …